Greytown schools and kindergartens are benefiting from a new funding initiative by Greytown Trust Lands Trust, with more than $80,000 distributed among them.

The trust’s new education funding strategy was adopted in August last year and has seen a more equitable and targeted approach to education initiatives in Greytown.

Chairman Sid Kempton said that education played a vital role in creating strong, resilient communities and the trust wanted to support local education providers.

“The trust’s vision is a well-educated community that is able to successfully participate in the economy and contribute to the well-being of its residents.

He said previous funding processes had seen the bulk of money awarded to Kuranui College and Greytown School without explicit projects in mind.

Kuranui College and Greytown School still received the main share of funding – Kuranui got $33,600 for new classroom technology and language teaching resources, while Greytown School got $32,400 for digital technology, playground maintenance and new games.

Kuranui College principal Simon Fuller said he was very grateful for the support from the trust.

“As a community, we’re extremely lucky to have not only this additional source of financial support but also the opportunity to fund collaborative projects in the spirit of Kahui Ako [College of Learning] with schools such as Greytown Primary School.”

Greytown Kindergarten was awarded more than $7400 for an interactive screen and Greytown Early Years received about $8000 for several programmes.